There is nothing new about censorship. You did not say “Yahweh” in ancient Israel even if you were good at dodging rocks, and saying bad things about the king was often deadly in any kingdom. Censorship and religion fit together like hand and glove, as does despotism and censorship. Banning the expression of thoughts is an attempt to ban thinking; blind obedience and complete control are the goal. In this country we have a long history or censorship and a more recent history of first Amendment objections to that censorship. When I say recent bear in mind that the individual states were not legally constrained by the bill of rights until the passage of the fourteenth Amendment. So, inspired by the banning of what the Simpson's described as David's doodle, I am starting my discussion with the censorship of material considered obscene or pornographic.
"'Banned In Boston' is a phrase that was employed from the late 19th century through the mid-20th century, to describe a literary work, song, motion picture, or play which had been prohibited from distribution or exhibition in Boston, Massachusetts. During this period, Boston officials had wide authority to ban works featuring "objectionable" content, and often banned works with sexual content or foul language."
Thus the phrase "banned in Boston" became associated, in the popular mind, with what we now describe as something having adult or sexually explicit content, and commercial distributors of such material were often pleased when their works were banned in Boston because it gave those works more appeal elsewhere.[1]
Playboy magazine (started in 1953) was one of the leading voices of what came to be known as the sexual revolution of the nineteen sixties. Oddly enough given the feminist objections to the “titillating” centerfolds and male humor, it was the female editors of Playboy that made it a respectable publication which had, in the legal jargon of the time, the requisite “socially redeeming value” to separate it from the pornographic category. In many ways Playboy was a life style magazine that discussed fashions and relationships as well providing much in the way of sex education. As such it was a strong defender of the first amendment. But as important as Payboy, Penthouse and other “mens'” magazines were in the fight against censorship the greatest blow to the blue noses was probably delivered by women in 1960 when the first birth control pill came on the market.
To say the pill was liberating for women would be an understatement. It is not all that difficult to remain celibate until you are married if you are only sixteen when you get married. Remaining celibate until you graduate from college is another matter, and women were soon expressing the fact that they had needs and desires too. Much to our benefit we now have women rising to become successful educators, scientists, entrepreneurs, executives, and politicians. Women have escaped the confines of the family dwelling, and there is almost no way one can exaggerate how important birth control and the ability to plan families are to a woman's freedom and professional success. In this regard the attacks on women's reproductive choices and rights are merely a prelude to oppression. Like the fascists in Europe the American oppressors are making what they perceive to be any vulnerable sector of the population the scapegoats for all of society's ills. Here is a hint for the R-fascists: Women are not a minority, and if you tell them father knows best the finger they are likely to display will not be the one sporting a wedding band. Furthermore those other people, those dark people, those LBGTQ people, and those non-Christians have good reason to know our actual history, and they will push back against the oppressive alternate reality you are trying to inflict on this country. It does not matter how hard the R- fascists try to hide the truth or control our thoughts we, the people, will not let De Santis and the Republicans turn this country into Flori-duh!
